The 1 percent

At Thanksgiving, embracing the winds of change and increasing our faith

It is a universal observation of the philosophers that a nation with many laws is not a good nation, but it is the universal observation of the lawyers that such a nation is ripe for devouring. It is in their financial interest to create laws that the layman cannot understand or interpret. It's not, of course, in the interest of the country--who else thinks it's a good idea that we not know what we're supposed to be doing?

In Florida, it is almost impossible for a 50-year-old doctor or dentist from another state to get a license to practice. These license requirements are not for patients but are intended to protect existing professionals from competition--the very thing that would help patients by expanding their options and lowering prices.

Rich liberal environmentalists do not appreciate the irony when they propose gas-miserly cars for the 99 percent but fly to environmental conferences in private jets like Al Gore or Barack Obama in Air Force One, which costs six figures per hour to run. They want to stop oil drilling and promote green technology with government subsidies to their political supporters in the industry. Few will publicly acknowledge, as Energy Secretary Steven Chu has done, that the best way to increase the use of green technology is to increase the price of gas to $10!

The cost of their policies falls heavily on the poor, while environmentalists urgently want to shift the blame for this onto greedy corporations and other bogeymen. At the same time, the environmentalists disavow the effectiveness of the market in letting price determine investment in green technology. It is not coincidental that developing countries put a low priority on the environment: They want to become rich enough to join the wealthy countries, which are meanwhile preaching environmentalism.

Armstrong Williams content can be found on RightSideWire.com. He is also the author of the new book "Reawakening Virtues." Come join the discussion live 4-5 p.m., 6-8 p.m. ET at www.livestream.com/armstrongwilliams or tune into S.C. WGCV 4-5 p.m., Sirius/XM Power 128, 7-8 p.m. and 4-5 a.m. ET, 6-7 p.m. D.C. a.m. 730 WTNT, 7-8 p.m. WGNU a.m. 920 St. Louis. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arightside and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/arightside.